The Anniversary
by Braxenimos
Summary: The gang gathers at Jade and Tori's house in remembrance of the friend they lost some years ago.


**Enjoy.**

* * *

The familiar sounds of a door opening and keys jingling were heard.

Tori smiled as the searing hot pan in her hand was placed upon the counter. She kneed the oven door closed and pulled off the oven mitts before turning around to be greeted by one of her favorite people.

Jade's hands slid onto Tori's waist and then around to her back where the fingers interlocked. She leaned back a bit, giving their faces space to breath, and smiled as Tori's head tilted down and the girl bit her lip. Jade pulled the body in her arms tightly to her own body before she spoke in a soft whisper. "Hi."

"Hey." Was Tori's reply as she leaned in to place her lips briefly on to Jade's.

Jade licked her lips after the kiss and Tori shifted her weight shyly, as if they had just kissed for the first time, before twisting around in the Goth's arms. Jade's head landed atop Tori's shoulder and she watched as Tori pulled the tinfoil off of the dish that she had previously removed from the oven, her hands now interlocking on Tori's stomach.

Somehow the familiar twisting in Tori's stomach had yet to cease, even in their many years together, as she felt a kiss on her neck. And then Jade was speaking, half muffled by the skin against her lips. "Sad day."

"Yeah."

Jade rocked softly side to side and Tori's hand came up to play with her hair as she turned her head to meet Jade's gaze. Another kiss was had before Jade groaned and continued the conversation. "I've got to leave already."

"You knew you had to pick up Cat today." Tori flicked Jade's ear after stroking the black hair covering it as she replied. "So, why did you bother coming home first?"

"Oh, you know." Jade's eyes looked into a random place above the girls as her playful expression appeared. "I've been having an affair and wanted to make sure you didn't catch on by showing you some random affection." Her victorious smirk was lost as a sharp sting was felt on her earlobe. "Ow!"

"Don't even play around like that." Tori used her pouting expression and Jade practically melted at its adorableness.

"Okay, you caught me."

"Aw, my baby couldn't stay away from her girl for long, huh?"

Jade scoffed and retracted her arms before landing a slight tap and Tori's backside. "Nah, just your ass."

Tori turned around quickly in attempt at slapping Jade's shoulder but missed completely as the girl was already walking away. "I'll get you later!" She called out and Jade was halfway to the front door.

"Whatever." Jade called behind her. The door was heard opening and then Jade was calling out again. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Tori replied. She smiled out of happiness after the door shut, as Jade had waited to hear Tori's reply like she always did.

Then Tori was back to preparing food for the meal that was to be had later in the evening. She had been doing so all day and after another half hour was finally finished. The doorbell rang, reminding her that it was about time for the guests to be arriving, and she quickly made way to open the door and greet the first one.

"Hey, girl." The familiar voice of one Andre Harris spoke just after the door opened and Tori crashed into him with a big hug. "Nice to see you, too."

Tori released him from the hug and stood back before speaking. "Sorry. Just haven't seen you in so long."

Andre smiled and Tori realized how much she had missed that smile. He had been on tour for quite a while with the band he started just a few years ago and had managed to take whatever time out that he could to be there, not wanting to miss such a day for anything. It was the one day the gang had vowed to always get together, no matter where their lives had taken them, in remembrance of a good friend that had been lost.

Smiles soon shifted into that of sad ones as they both fell into a comfortable silence.

Tori spoke up soon after once she realized that she was still wearing her food stained and sweaty clothes. "Uh, I'll be right back." She offered a sort of shame filled laugh before heading up the houses stairs to get changed.

Andre shook his head and placed his hands in his pockets, looking around the residence that he hadn't visited in some time. He wasn't sure why girls had to present themselves so properly and got flustered when they realized they weren't "presentable" but had gotten use to it having many friends of the female persuasion over the years.

A picture caught the musicians eye and he picked it up, smiling the same sad smile as he looked upon the photo of the entire group in high school. The doorbell rang again and he placed the picture down where he had found it. He brought his gaze to the top of the stairs to see if Tori was coming down yet but decided he should just answer the door once he realized that she wasn't.

A fist bump was made almost instantly as Andre and Beck quickly fell back into their high school personas. Tori bounded back down her staircase and crashed into Beck with the same hug she used with Andre. Someone cleared their throat behind Beck and Tori quickly let go, scolding herself for once again causing such a situation to occur between her and Beck. The handsome boys wife's arms were folded as she entered the door and offered Tori a scowl before it slowly changed into a smile and hugged Tori as well.

"Still going around hugging other girls men, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Ari." Tori replied. And then another person came into the door, clinging shyly to her fathers shirt as she hid half of her body behind Beck. "Hey there, Katie." Tori bent down to the little girls level and smiled a reassuring smile to her.

"Hey." Katy spoke softly, almost whispering, before moving some of her body out from behind her father.

Tori's head tilted a bit and her hands placed on her thighs. "Cat should be home soon. You remember Cat?" Tori waited for the six year olds nod before speaking again. "You guys had fun playing together last time, didn't you?"

"Uh huh."

Katie was smiling finally and came completely out from behind Beck as Tori stood back up. The little girl walked over to her mother and joined in with her as she talked to Andre.

Beck walked up to Tori and ran a hand through his hair before starting a conversation with her. "Speaking of Cat. Where is the little ball off joy?"

"She had rehearsal today and Jade went to pick her up."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yup." Tori playfully rolled her eyes before continuing. "You'd be proud of her. She's turning out to be quite the actress."

Beck had landed a big television role that filmed in Las Angeles. The boy was truly happy as he got to stay close to his family and friends. But, sadly it didn't free him up enough to visit with said friends that often, choosing to spend the little free time he had with his family.

The five of them conversed for some while, finding seating in Tori and Jade's living room, as they waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They talked about the things that were going on in each others lives and eventually landed on the subject that brought them all together on this day each year. Soon enough they fell into that all too familiar sad silence in tribute to the loss and the sound of the doorbell ringing eventually broke it.

Everyone rose to greet whoever was at the door and found that it was Robbie and his girlfriend. They joined everyone else in the house, after Tori pulled Robbie into a tight hug, and the mystery girl with the puppeteer turned out to be a stagehand at the big theatre that Robbie put on shows at, whose name was Serah. She also seemed to be even more awkward than Robbie himself, having managed to embarrass herself with each person.

Andre offered her a fist bump, to which she tried to shake his hand. Then Beck tried to shake her hand but she thought they were still doing the fist bumps and tried that. And with Tori she just blushed as she seemed to be even prettier than Robbie had described her. Even though Serah was just as pretty she was one of those girls that never seemed to realize it.

After a few tries the girl finally got a proper greeting with everyone and was surprised at how accepting they all seemed to be. And then the font door was opening quickly and another little girls voice boomed throughout the house.

"Mommy!" The little girl with bright orange-red hair leapt into Tori's arms, to which Tori struggled with for a second, before she was speaking again. "Momma told me to jump into your arms."

"Oh she did, did she?"

Jade walked in at just the right moment and Tori looked to her with a playful scowl. "You know, you're getting way too heavy to be carried and your momma knows it." The six year old just laughed and soon enough the gang was there to greet her.

Each and every person either said "hey" or patted her on the head but all made sure to include her name in their greeting. Katy was last and looked up to speak in her shy tone. "Hey, Cat."

Cat dropped from Tori's arms and the two six years olds instantly became friends again as they scurried off to play. The rest of the night was just as it always was, with a bunch of friends gathered in tribute to Cat Valentine.

There was a time when the group started to drift apart and even a bit of tension was created between a few of them. Feelings were being ignored and all around life had gotten in the way. But in the event of Cat's illness each of them gathered at the hospital only to be scolded by the girl for drifting apart in such ways, as she had never given up on them. She brought them all back together and they were eternally grateful for it. It was just too bad it cost her life to do so.

She never even got to see Tori and Jade together after all her years of adamantly telling them that they were perfect for each other. So, the day that the couple had decided to adopt a child a name was the easiest to pick from. It certainly helped that little Cat turned out to have red hair, even though it was a much more natural color.

The little girl didn't find it weird at all that almost everyone at this gathering seemed to treat her like a daughter of their own. To her she just felt overly loved and was truly happy for it. But eventually the day would come when questions were asked as to why everyone showed up on such a day, and she would feel truly blessed for the reasons behind it.

* * *

**Enjoyed?**


End file.
